Submission Rules & Categories
Cinema Shift Festival is a curated festival focused on story-driven, author-led works that critically and creatively engage with AI as a filmmaking tool. Submission does not guarantee selection.
Films are selected and awarded by a small curatorial jury composed of filmmakers, scholars, and cultural practitioners. The jury prioritizes narrative clarity, human authorship, and meaningful use of AI in service of the story.
The festival features three competition categories. Films must be submitted to the single most appropriate category based on the criteria below. Dual submissions are not permitted.
Films where AI tools form the core of the production process and output, with AI-generated or AI-directed visual, audio, or other elements comprising the majority of the final work, while emphasizing strong human-driven storytelling, character development, and intentional narrative structure.
Eligibility criteria:
Films where traditional production methods (live-action, conventional animation, or standard filmmaking techniques) dominate, with AI used selectively to enhance specific elements.
Eligibility criteria:
An award recognizing outstanding Canadian AI-assisted narrative filmmaking.
Eligibility criteria:
Best Canadian AI Narrative Film is selected from films submitted to the Best AI Narrative Film category and is not a separate submission category.
The jury may award Special Mentions at its sole discretion to recognize outstanding achievement, innovation, or artistic contribution. These are not open submission categories and carry no obligation for annual presentation.
For the purpose of this festival, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is understood as a creative tool, not an author.
An AI or AI-assisted film is any film in which AI tools were meaningfully used during any stage of the filmmaking process, including but not limited to:
Key principle:
AI is treated as a means of execution, not as the creative voice itself.
All submitted films must demonstrate clear human authorship, narrative intent, and creative decision-making.
The festival does not reward technical novelty alone. Films are evaluated primarily on storytelling, narrative coherence, emotional impact, and creative vision.
Submissions must be made by the human creator(s) of the film, who take responsibility for ensuring that all elements of the work, including AI-generated components, are used lawfully and ethically.
All films must demonstrate a reasonably discernible narrative intention, which may include:
To support this, all submissions must include:
The jury reserves the right to disqualify works if narrative intent is not reasonably evident in either the film itself or the submitted written materials.
Pure technical demonstrations, background visuals, prompt showcases, software tests, or generative “wallpaper” works without narrative intent are not eligible.
Filmmakers must clearly disclose:
Disclosure does not affect eligibility and is used solely for transparency and programming context.
Final delivery requirements will be published separately on a Technical Specifications page.
Films are evaluated by the jury based on:
Human authorship refers to intentional creative decision-making and does not privilege any specific workflow, scale of production, or degree of AI involvement.
Strong prompting or technical execution alone is not sufficient without visible authorship in the final work.
The jury’s decisions reflect curatorial judgment and comparative evaluation across submissions, rather than absolute or purely technical merit.
Filmmakers are responsible for ensuring that all elements of their submitted work, including any AI-generated or AI-assisted components, are used lawfully and ethically, and that they have the necessary rights, permissions, and consents for all materials, data, voices, and likenesses represented in the film.
The festival reserves the right to request clarification or additional information regarding AI tools, data sources, or synthetic elements when necessary for curatorial or ethical assessment.
While the festival does not independently verify training data or underlying AI models, it may disqualify or remove works from the program if credible concerns arise regarding unlawful, unethical, or harmful use of AI-generated content.
Films that promote hate speech, discrimination, or harmful misinformation will not be accepted.
Selected films may be presented as part of the festival’s public program, including curated screenings on the festival’s official website or other official digital platforms, or via curated playlists linking to the filmmaker’s own channels.
As part of its long-term mission, the festival is building a curated archive documenting the artistic, cultural, and technological evolution of AI-assisted cinema.
By submitting a film, filmmakers grant the festival a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to present their selected work online for promotional, curatorial, and archival purposes.
Filmmakers may request the removal of their film from public online presentation at any time. The festival may retain a non-public archival copy solely for internal curatorial and historical documentation.
Filmmakers retain full ownership and all other rights to their work.
Filmmakers are encouraged to include a 3–5 sentence director’s statement explaining:
This statement is used for jury context only and does not influence eligibility.
Fabio Montanari is a filmmaker and scholar who has written series for major networks, including HBO and Netflix, and is the creator of an original international TV series for Amazon Prime Video. He holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University and is an Assistant Professor at York University.
Ann Marie Fleming is an award-winning Canadian writer, director, producer, and visual artist whose work spans animation, documentary, and narrative film. Her films have premiered 18 times at the Toronto International Film Festival, with several selections on the TIFF Top 10 list, and her acclaimed animated feature Window Horses received international recognition, including the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature.
Samantha Wan is a Canadian director, writer, and producer who co-created, directed, and starred in the Citytv comedy series Second Jen, nominated for the WGC Newcomer Award and the Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series. She has directed projects including the BAFTA Award-winning series The Next Step and CBC’s Gangnam Project, for which she received a DGC nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.
Boris Licina is a screenwriter and curator focused on narrative authorship and AI-assisted storytelling. He holds a BFA in Screenwriting from York University and works across film and emerging media with an emphasis on story-driven, human-led cinema.
